Then-Managing Editor Eric Todoroff burst through the door, a panicked look on his face, interrupting our conference call. “There was just a terrorist attack on America,” he said, referring to the Boston Marathon Bombings.

I was just announced next year’s Editor-in-Chief and we were supposed to determine the rest of the staff for the new school year. It was the biggest break in my career; excitement was an understatement. Hearing the news fives minutes before our meeting, it didn’t seem important all the sudden. Nothing did.

The rest of the day was spent refreshing Twitter feeds and watching Internet streams of TV broadcasts. Nobody knew what was happening; nobody pretended otherwise. National tragedies have a weird way of uniting America. The bullshit we spew and the dumb posturing we do disappears, revealing the humans underneath it all—the acting stops.

Time stumbled the whole day, speeding and slowing randomly as fresh news bombarded us. Three or four of us remained in the FSView office the rest of the day, not really talking but not wanting to be alone either. We listened in silence to the police scanner as cops surrounded Dhokar Tsarnaev who had found refuge in the backyard. They caught him and for the first time all day, we exhaled.

I went home then, picking up some Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager along the way; it felt appropriate. I drank my beer, put on my Boston Red Sox hat and thought. America had more work to do. [ – Brendan Bures]
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— Edward Snowden

While there may be many different opinions on what to call Edward Snowden one thing is for sure, he’ll go down in history as the face of one the most significant information leaks in U.S. history.

A former CIA employee and contractor for the National Security Agency, Snowden leaked some 200,000 classified documents to the press. The leak exposed many invasions of privacy of individuals through previously unknown government surveillance programs like PRISM, XKeyscore and Tempora.

This is the dilemma that supposedly didn’t sit right with the previous government employee, questioning mass surveillance, government secrecy and information privacy. After leaking this information, Snowden became a fugitive in the United States on charges of espionage and theft of government property and was forced to flee the country if he hoped to remain free.

Residing in Hong Kong before boarding a privately chartered jet to Moscow provided by WikiLeaks. Currently, there are still debates in regard to Snowden being justified in releasing this information and questions of the NSA going too far in terms of invading the privacy of individuals. [ – Carleigh Walter]
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— Government Shutdown

In October, the third longest government shutdown in U.S. history occurred, lasting 16 days and leaving the finances of millions of American citizens in question.

The reason for 800,000 federal employees being furloughed and 1.3 more working without knowing when they’d be compensated for it was due to the inability of the Republican-led House of Representatives and the Democrat-led Senate to enact legislation appropriating funds for the fiscal year of 2014.

A major deal breaker that led to these difficulties was the disagreements in regard to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare. The House hoped to delay or defund the program in their proposed resolutions whereas the Senate amended the bills to where it would not affect the course of Obamacare, leading the House to reinstate the previously striped measures and pass it on to the senate again.

On Oct. 16 Congress successfully passed the legislation that would end the government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis, formally known as the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014. [ – Carleigh Walter]
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— The Dream Defenders Protest

George Zimmerman’s acquittal was the verdict that launched a thousand protests.
In July, after a high-profile trial, the former neighborhood watch volunteer was found not guilty in the 2012 shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. Within less than two hours of the announcement, the Dream Defenders, a civil rights group consisting mainly of college students, organized a march from Tallahassee’s Donald L. Tucker Center to the steps of the old Florida Capitol.

For the Dream Defenders, this was only the beginning of a campaign that would gain national media attention and warrant a meeting between Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the protestors. Days after the verdict was read in Zimmerman’s trial, the Dream Defenders launched a sit-in the Florida Capitol Building.

For nearly a month, the protestors occupied Gov. Scott’s office and surrounding area. Their goals: to bring an end to Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground law, the school-to-prison pipeline and institutionalized racism.

The sit-in ended in mid-August, and, despite a group of protestors meeting with Gov. Scott, the Dream Defenders’ left the Capitol without accomplishing what they had set out to accomplish.

Since then, the group has had a much more low-profile presence on Florida State University’s campus and in Tallahassee. But for a time, the Dream Defenders became the face of the discontent surrounding Martin’s death and Zimmerman’s acquittal. [ – K. Maxwell Greenwood]
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— Nelson Mandela dies

Just as a tumultuous year for media was coming to an end, the world was met with the news of former South African President Nelson Mandela’s passing on Dec. 5 at the age of 95.

Together, people from around the world mourned the death of the anti-apartheid leader who, for decades, had served as a role model for tolerance, civil rights, peaceful resolutions and equality.

Mandela had a long history in social and political activism, addressing issues such as colonialism and apartheid and institutionalized racism in South Africa. During his life, the activist served over 27 years in prison before being elected as South Africa’s first black president in 1994. Mandela held the office until 1999.

Mandela’s health had been deteriorating long before his passing earlier this month. For months his health had been a topic of speculation for admirers, politicians and reporters. Despite the media storm surrounding Mandela’s final months, he died of a respiratory infection in his home in Houghton, Johannesburg. His death was announced by current South African President Jacob Zuma at a press conference that same day.

While Mandela may be gone, his life remains a legacy of passion and social change.
[ – K. Maxwell Greenwood]
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…..item 2)…. Be The Change… Live The Dream In 2014 …

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. committed his life to bringing about his dream of racial justice and equality. To commemorate Dr. King and all that he stood for, the City of Tallahassee will proudly host the 17th annual Day of Dialogue in Kleman Plaza on Monday, Jan. 20, from noon to 2 p.m.

“Dr. King was a remarkable man whose vision of a beloved community continues to be meaningful today,” Mayor John Marks said. “This event provides our citizens with the opportunity to share in his wisdom through dialogue about how better communications can make us stronger as individuals and a community.”
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The Day of Dialogue is held under the auspices of the Mayor’s Initiative on Race, Culture and Human Relations. It provides a forum to experience the diverse views and cultures of others.

Robbie Stokes Jr., founder of the social movement “I Talk to Strangers,” returns as this year’s guest speaker. Stokes will share his inspirational story about why he decided to challenge the theory of not talking to strangers and how he’s been able to make these strangers into lifelong friends and esteemed business contacts. His message focuses on how to bridge the gaps of prejudice, racism, sexism and indifference by bringing people together one new relationship at a time. This presentation is designed to engage and motivate participants on the power of communication and relationships.
Participants attending the Day of Dialogue will receive a voucher for free parking in Kleman Plaza. In the event of inclement weather, the Day of Dialogue will be held in the City Commission Chambers, located on the second floor of City Hall, 300 S. Adams St.

This year, the Day of Dialogue is part of the 2nd annual MLK “Dare to Dream” festival, which will be held the same day in Kleman Plaza from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The theme for this year’s festival is Be the Change…Live the Dream in 2014.

Presented by the Martin Luther King Jr. Dare to Dream Association, the MLK “Dare to Dream” festival will feature live music, a variety of specialty item and food vendors, historical exhibits and a “MLK Birthday Bash” for kids, complete with bounce houses, games and face painting. Live music will be provided by five-time Grammy nominated musician and Tallahassee-native Ashanti Floyd, also known as the “Mad Violinist.”

The festival is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the festivities.

For more information about the festival, visit MLKDare2Dream.com. For more information about Stokes and the “I Talk to Strangers” movement, please visit italktostrangers.com.

The Day of Dialogue is presented by the City of Tallahassee’s Equity and Workforce Development department (EWD). The mission of EWD is to help create a culturally and ethnically diverse community through a variety of programs that are focused on managing diversity and creating a climate that values the differences among individuals. For more information about programs offered by EWD, visit Talgov.com.
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Litigation over Obamacare’s individual mandate has captured the public’s attention. But the ultimate goal in challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care law is not the mandate, it is severability. Easy To Insure ME has the answers

This individual mandate that you must buy health insurance is the most obnoxious provision of Obamacare, eradicating the concept of limited government. If the federal government can tell you how to spend your own money to buy insurance, then it also has the power to command how you spend the rest of your money in every area of life.

GLENN MOLLETTE: Solving Obamacare and our healthcare insurance disaster
Every person wants health-related insurance policies. With no it you are headed for the bad property or a shorter lifestyle. Here is what our government need to do: Advertisement. Make Medicaid offered for American citizens in poverty. Citizens acquiring some type of month to month&nbsp…Read far more on Your Houston Information

Robert Samuelson: What the up coming disaster will be for &#39Obamacare&#39
WASHINGTON — For President Obama, the 1 &quotmust read through&quot from the newest Sunday papers is an essay in The Washington Submit by Jon Kingsdale, who ran the wellness exchange for the Massachusetts system of obligatory insurance coverage from 2006 till 2010.Study more on Kankakee Everyday Journal